UN/LOCODE is the United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations, a five-character code identifying ports, airports, and terminals worldwide. It combines a two-letter ISO 3166 country code with a three-character location code, so USNYC means New York in the United States and NLRTM means Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

How is a UN/LOCODE structured?

The first two characters are the ISO 3166 country code and the last three identify the place, usually derived from its name. The location part uses the letters A to Z and, in rare cases, the digits 2 to 9, but never 0 or 1 to avoid confusion with the letters O and I.

Who maintains the list and how often does it change?

UN/LOCODE is maintained by UNECE, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and is republished about twice a year. New locations are added and obsolete ones retired, so production systems should sync against the latest official register rather than a fixed snapshot.

Why does this tool show only some locations?

The full register contains more than 100,000 entries, which is too large to embed in a browser tool. This lookup curates the most-used ports and airports for quick reference; a well-formed code that is not listed may still be valid in the complete UNECE dataset.

What does the function column mean?

Each UN/LOCODE carries function flags describing what the location does, such as a seaport, airport, rail terminal, or road terminal. The function column summarises those roles so you can tell at a glance whether a code refers to a port, an airport, or a multimodal hub.

What is the UN/LOCODE Port & Location Code Lookup?

Search UN/LOCODE 5-character location codes for major ports, airports, and terminals worldwide. Look up codes like USNYC or NLRTM by code, city, or country, and see each location's function, in your browser. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

UN/LOCODE Port & Location Code Lookup

Name: UN/LOCODE Port & Location Code Lookup
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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What UN/LOCODE is and why it matters

UN/LOCODE (the United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations) is the universal identifier for logistics locations: seaports, airports, inland freight terminals, rail cargo facilities, and road border crossings worldwide. It appears in shipping instructions, customs declarations (including HMRC import/export filings), bills of lading, HS-coded trade data, and EDI messages.

The code is maintained by UNECE (the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) and republished approximately twice a year. The register currently holds over 100,000 active and retired locations across more than 200 countries.

How a UN/LOCODE is structured

Every code is five characters: a two-letter ISO 3166 country code followed by a three-character location code:

  US  NYC
  ^^  ^^^
  |   |
  |   Location code — usually derived from the city name
  Country code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2)

Common examples:

Code	Location
USNYC	New York City, United States
NLRTM	Rotterdam, Netherlands
GBLON	London, United Kingdom
SGSIN	Singapore, Singapore
DEHAM	Hamburg, Germany
CNSHA	Shanghai, China
JPNGO	Nagoya, Japan
AEAUH	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The location characters use letters and, in rare cases, the digits 2 to 9. The digits 0 and 1 are deliberately excluded because they look like the letters O and I in some typefaces.

How the lookup works

When you enter a full five-character code, the tool validates the format and looks it up in the curated dataset. Partial queries filter by code, city name, or country. The function column next to each result summarises the location’s role using flags from the official register:

P — Seaport
A — Airport
R — Road terminal
T — Rail terminal
B — Border crossing
Q — Liquid bulk / gas terminal
F — Inland freight terminal
M — Multimodal

A location may carry multiple flags, for example a major hub like Dubai’s Jebel Ali acts as both a seaport and an inland freight terminal.

UN/LOCODE vs other location codes

UN/LOCODEs are sometimes confused with related but distinct systems:

IATA airport codes (three letters, e.g., LHR for Heathrow) cover only civilian airports. UN/LOCODEs cover airports too, but also seaports, rail depots, and land crossings. The same airport may have both: London Heathrow is LHR (IATA) and GBLHR (UN/LOCODE).
ISO 3166-2 subdivisions identify regions and states within a country, not logistics locations.
ICAO codes (four characters, e.g., EGLL for Heathrow) are used in aviation operations, not trade logistics.

Notes on the curated dataset

The full UNECE register exceeds 100,000 entries. This tool curates the most frequently referenced ports, airports, and multimodal hubs for fast browser-based lookup. A code absent from this list may still be valid in the complete UNECE dataset — always cross-reference against the current official release for production customs or logistics systems.

All searching runs locally in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.